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GAO-12-410R:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
February 24, 2012:
The Honorable Lamar Alexander:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate:
Subject: The Department of Energy's Office of Science Uses a
Multilayered Process for Prioritizing Research:
Dear Senator Alexander:
Scientific and technological innovation is critical to the long-term
economic competitiveness and prosperity of the United States. In 2006,
the President introduced the American Competitiveness Initiative to
address the nation's position as a global leader in scientific
discovery and innovation. Shortly thereafter, Congress passed the
America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in
Technology, Education, and Science Act (America COMPETES Act) of 2007
with the overall goal of increasing federal investment in scientific
research.[Footnote 1] Congress reauthorized this legislation on
January 4, 2011.[Footnote 2]
With a budget of nearly $5 billion in fiscal year 2011, the Department
of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science (Science) has historically been
the nation's single largest funding source for basic research in the
physical sciences, energy sciences, advanced scientific computing, and
other fields.[Footnote 3] Science and its predecessor agency, the
Office of Energy Research, have long served the nation in the quest
for scientific knowledge and innovation. From the construction of
particle accelerators--long tunnels where subatomic particles collide
with targets at nearly the speed of light--to the design and launch of
a satellite telescope that reveals stellar explosions in the deepest
parts of space, projects overseen by Science have broadened our
understanding of the cosmos and of the fundamental components of life
on Earth.
In his fiscal year 2007 budget proposal, the President requested an
increase in Science's annual appropriation, which was part of an
effort to double Science's funding in 10 years under the goals of the
American Competitiveness Initiative and the America COMPETES Act.
[Footnote 4] However, policy decisions made in response to the current
budget environment have since shifted Science's funding trajectory
away from the target of doubling funding by fiscal year 2016. As a
result, Science will be confronted with complex decisions in selecting
research activities that are most worthy of resources.
You asked us to review how Science determines what research to pursue.
Our objectives were to describe (1) Science's research priorities and
how those priorities were established and (2) how, if at all, Science
coordinates with other federal agencies to identify and mitigate
potential areas of duplication, overlap, and fragmentation in
establishing and implementing research efforts.
To identify Science's research priorities, we reviewed key planning
and budget documentation, including DOE's 2011 strategic plan and
Science's fiscal year 2012 congressional budget justification. In
addition, we examined, as applicable, reports Science produced in
response to federal advisory committees.[Footnote 5] We interviewed
Science's Deputy Director for Science Programs and the Associate
Directors of Science's research programs to discuss how these
documents, as well as other information from both internal and
external sources, inform how Science makes decisions on its research
priorities. In addition, we selected a nonprobability sample of 2 of
the 10 Office of Science national laboratories to visit--Brookhaven
National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory--to understand
how these decisions affect Science's operations.[Footnote 6] To
examine how Science's research priorities are established, we
interviewed Science's Director of the Office of Budget, as well as
Science program management. We corroborated the officials' statements
by examining supporting documentation provided by Science's Office of
Budget. This documentation included, for example, budget formulation
guidance issued to program management and budget tool templates, such
as program and project data worksheets. In addition, we reviewed
funding history data from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2011.
To address our second objective, we interviewed Science program
officials regarding the steps they take to coordinate with other DOE
program offices and other federal agencies that fund basic research to
identify and mitigate potential duplication, overlap, and
fragmentation. We analyzed agency documentation to corroborate
information provided by the officials. However, the scope of this
request did not involve evaluating the extent to which Science's tools
for coordination are effective in identifying or mitigating
duplication, overlap, or fragmentation. Duplication may occur when two
or more agencies or programs are engaged in the same activities or
provide the same services to the same beneficiaries. Fragmentation
refers to those circumstances in which more than one federal agency,
or more than one organization within an agency, is involved in the
same broad area of national need. Overlap occurs when fragmented
agencies or programs have similar goals, engage in similar activities
or strategies to achieve them, or target similar beneficiaries.
We conducted this performance audit from June 2011 to February 2012 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Summary:
Science establishes research priorities within and across its six core
interdisciplinary research programs, which include a wide variety of
research ranging from biology to particle physics. However, Science
does not explicitly rank these programs in terms of priority. The
office currently prioritizes research that aligns with the Secretary
of Energy's interest in fostering the development of clean energy
technologies. For example, Science supports research in materials
sciences, which informs technology development of batteries and fuels
cells. According to Science's Deputy Director for Science Programs,
the office remains committed to all of its research programs and, in
the case of stable or declining budgets, does not intend to limit
funding reductions to certain programs. Science formalizes priorities
annually through the budget formulation process.
With input from program management, the Director of the Office of
Science reconciles priorities across programs and develops a Science-
wide budget request that culminates in the President's budget request
to Congress each February. The budget formulation process provides an
annual opportunity for formalizing priorities, but Science develops
priorities on an ongoing basis through the continuous evaluation of
evolving scientific knowledge and other contextual factors. These
factors include the current priorities of Congress and the
administration, the extended time frames associated with conducting
basic research, the need to ensure that existing and planned
facilities meet current and future research needs, and past and
current project performance.
Science uses a variety of formal and informal mechanisms to coordinate
with other DOE entities and other agencies that fund basic research,
including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), and the Department of Defense (DOD), according to DOE
officials. For example, formal mechanisms include partnerships and
joint projects with other agencies, while informal mechanisms include
interaction among program managers and their counterparts within and
outside of DOE. These formal and informal mechanisms are used by DOE
officials to identify and mitigate areas of duplication, overlap, and
fragmentation in establishing and implementing research efforts.
Background:
DOE's mission is to ensure America's security and prosperity by
addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through
transformative science and technology solutions. The following four
goals underpin DOE's mission.
Goal 1: Catalyze the timely, material, and efficient transformation of
the nation's energy system and secure U.S. leadership in clean energy
technologies.
Goal 2: Maintain a vibrant U.S. effort in science and engineering as a
cornerstone of our economic prosperity with clear leadership in
strategic areas.
Goal 3: Enhance nuclear security through defense, nonproliferation,
and environmental efforts.
Goal 4: Establish an operational and adaptable framework that combines
the best wisdom of all department stakeholders to maximize mission
success.
The Office of Science directly contributes to goals 1 and 2 by
supporting fundamental research through six core interdisciplinary
research programs:
(1) Advanced Scientific Computing Research, which aims to discover,
develop, and deploy computational and networking capabilities to
analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena;
(2) Basic Energy Sciences, which supports fundamental research to
understand and ultimately control matter and energy at the atomic,
molecular, and electronic scales in order to provide the foundations
for new energy technologies;
(3) Biological and Environmental Research, which seeks to understand
complex biological, climatic, and environmental systems across spatial
and temporal scales, ranging from submicron to global, from individual
molecules to ecosystems, and from a fraction of a second to millennia;
[Footnote 7]
(4) Fusion Energy Sciences, which aims to expand the fundamental
understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to
develop the scientific foundations needed to develop a fusion energy
source;
(5) High Energy Physics, which aims to understand how the universe
works at its most fundamental level by discovering the elementary
constituents of matter and energy, probing the interactions between
them, and exploring the basic nature of space and time; and:
(6) Nuclear Physics, which supports research to discover, explore, and
understand all forms of nuclear matter through experimental and
theoretical research that creates, detects, and describes different
forms and complexities of that matter, including those forms that are
no longer commonly found in our universe.[Footnote 8]
As a result of the continued national emphasis on scientific discovery
and innovation over the last decade, increasing appropriations have
generally resulted in increased allocations for all core research
programs (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Office of Science Program Allocations, Fiscal Years 2002
through 2011:
[Refer to PDF for image: vertical bar graph]
Program: Advanced Scientific-Computing Research;
FY 2002: $153 million;
FY 2003: $163 million;
FY 2004: $197 million;
FY 2005: $226 million;
FY 2006: $228 million;
FY 2007: $276 million;
FY 2008: $342 million;
FY 2009: $359 million;
FY 2010: $383 million;
FY 2011: $410 million.
Program: Basic Energy Sciences;
FY 2002: $980 million;
FY 2003: $1.002 billion;
FY 2004: $991 million;
FY 2005: $1.084 billion;
FY 2006: $1.110 billion;
FY 2007: $1.221 billion;
FY 2008: $1.253 billion;
FY 2009: $1.536 billion;
FY 2010: $1.599 billion;
FY 2011: $1.639 billion.
Program: Biological and Environmental Research;
FY 2002: $512 million;
FY 2003: $494 million;
FY 2004: $624 million;
FY 2005: $567 million;
FY 2006: $564 million;
FY 2007: $480 million;
FY 2008: $531 million;
FY 2009: $585 million;
FY 2010: $588 million;
FY 2011: $596 million.
Program: Fusion Energy Sciences;
FY 2002: $241 million;
FY 2003: $241 million;
FY 2004: $256 million;
FY 2005: $267 million;
FY 2006: $281 million;
FY 2007: $312 million;
FY 2008: $295 million;
FY 2009: $395 million;
FY 2010: $418;
FY 2011: $367 million.
Program: High Energy Sciences;
FY 2002: $697 million;
FY 2003: $702 million;
FY 2004: $716 million;
FY 2005: $723 million;
FY 2006: $698 million;
FY 2007: $732 million;
FY 2008: $703 million;
FY 2009: $776 million;
FY 2010: $791 million;
FY 2011: $776 million.
Program: Nuclear Physics;
FY 2002: $351 million;
FY 2003: $371 million;
FY 2004: $380 million;
FY 2005: $395 million;
FY 2006: $358 million;
FY 2007: $412 million;
FY 2008: $424 million;
FY 2009: $500 million;
FY 2010: $522 million;
FY 2011: $528 million.
Note: Values not adjusted for inflation.
[End of figure]
Each of the six programs supports fundamental research to address
questions within its field that affect DOE's missions. Some programs'
portfolios are diverse, while others are more homogeneous. For
instance, the Biological and Environmental Research program's
portfolio consists of three broad elements--biology, climate science,
and environmental science--while the High Energy Physics program's
portfolio is specifically focused on particle physics research, much
of which relies on the use of particle accelerators and
detectors.[Footnote 9] An associate director oversees each program,
and activities are managed by program managers.
In addition to its research programs, Science is the steward of 10
national laboratories, which include large-scale scientific facilities
and equipment.[Footnote 10] Additionally, Science manages 46 Energy
Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) and the Fuels from Sunlight Energy
Innovation Hub.[Footnote 11] Science's facilities aim to provide
scientific capabilities beyond the traditional scope of academic and
commercial institutions in order to facilitate the advancement of the
nation's scientific knowledge.
Further, Science's research programs fund, plan, construct, and
operate "scientific user facilities," which provide unique research
capabilities to researchers from universities, national laboratories,
and private institutions.[Footnote 12] For example, the Advanced
Scientific Computing Research program supports the operation of the
Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that
houses the Cray XT Jaguar, one of the world's most powerful computers.
In 2011, the Jaguar was used by such entities as Procter & Gamble, New
York University, and University of California, Los Angeles.
Science Establishes Research Priorities through Budget Formulation and
Assessment of Scientific Knowledge:
Science has numerous research priorities that support DOE's mission of
addressing national challenges through transformative science and
technology solutions. The office establishes priorities by having its
associate directors and the Director of the Office make trade-off
decisions during the annual budgeting process. These trade-off
decisions are informed through assessing areas of evolving scientific
knowledge and other contextual factors.
Science Has Numerous Research Priorities:
Science is involved in conducting or supporting research projects
across many and varied scientific disciplines, including genomics
research and nuclear physics. Science's 2012 budget request reflects
this. The Deputy Director for Science Programs told us that the
office's research priorities support DOE's mission of addressing
national challenges through transformative science and technology
solutions.
Each of Science's six core interdisciplinary research programs sets
priorities for its portfolio. The following are examples of current
research priorities for each program, according to the Deputy Director:
* Advanced Scientific Computing Research's focus is to sustain its
current capabilities in mathematics and applied computing science,
networking, and high-performance computer facilities while investing
in the development of exascale computing--an effort aiming to create
computers that operate a thousand times faster than the computers used
today.
* Basic Energy Sciences is currently emphasizing research on
understanding inorganic structures and their functions at the atomic,
molecular, and electronic scales. The Deputy Director said that these
efforts could contribute to the development of new materials for the
generation, storage, and use of energy. Additionally, the Deputy
Director said that Basic Energy Sciences will continue to invest in
user facilities, such as photon light sources that are necessary to
study the atomic structure and functions of complex materials.
[Footnote 13]
* Biological and Environmental Research is currently focusing on
understanding organic structures and their functions at the atomic,
molecular, and electronic scales. The Deputy Director said that the
program also plans to sustain its capabilities in climate modeling and
atmospheric measurement.
* Fusion Energy Sciences' top priority is ITER,[Footnote 14] an
international nuclear fusion research and engineering project intended
to demonstrate commercial electricity production from fusion.[Footnote
15] Fusion Energy Science may forgo funding increases or slightly
reduce funding for efforts other than ITER because of the current
budget environment, according to the Deputy Director.
* High Energy Physics is focusing on particle physics in which
scientists investigate fundamental forces and particle interactions
through the study of events that occur rarely in nature.[Footnote 16]
A primary goal for this program is to develop an understanding of what
lies beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. The Standard Model
describes the behavior of particles, but is incomplete.
* Nuclear Physics is currently following a path set forward in the
2007 report, The Frontiers of Nuclear Science,[Footnote 17] developed
by the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, which advises DOE and NSF
on basic nuclear science research.[Footnote 18] For example, the
program is investing in research such as rare isotope development and
facilities such as the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven.
[Footnote 19]
According to the Deputy Director, Science currently prioritizes
research that aligns with the Secretary of Energy's interest in
fostering the development of clean energy technologies. Science does
not explicitly rank order its six research programs, but many of its
research priorities fall within the portfolios of three programs--
Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, and
Biological and Environmental Research. For example, Science supports
research in materials sciences--which primarily falls into Basic
Energy Sciences' portfolio--that can inform the development of battery
and fuel cell technology, among other things. The Deputy Director said
that Science remains committed to all six of its research programs and
that, in the case of stable or declining budgets, Science does not
intend to limit funding reductions to certain programs. Additionally,
the Deputy Director noted that advancements in one research program
enable research in other programs. For example, Basic Energy Science
supports research that relies upon the use of high energy electron
lasers, the first of which was developed at a High Energy Physics lab
at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Science Establishes Priorities through the Annual Budget Formulation
Process:
The budget formulation process provides an annual opportunity for
Science to establish research priorities. During this process,
decisions to emphasize one research project over another are made
within each research program by the associate directors and across
programs by the Director of the Office of Science. A description of
this process, as detailed in internal Science documents and interviews
with Science budget and program officials, follows.
As part of the budget formulation process, the associate directors of
the six research programs annually make proposals to the Science
Director, Deputy Directors, and Science Budget Office about which
research projects should receive increased, decreased, and maintained
levels of funding. An overall target budget allocation, determined by
the Science Director and the DOE's Chief Financial Advisor, constrains
these program proposals. Accordingly, associate directors must make
trade-offs among research projects during this process. For example,
in fiscal year 2012, Nuclear Physics decided to close its Holifield
Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to
accommodate higher-priority research. High Energy Physics ceased
operations of the Tevatron at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
and plans to continue to phase out electron accelerator-based research
at SLAC as it transitions its focus toward other priorities, such as
non-accelerator-based projects.
To facilitate such trade-off decisions, the associate directors
develop multiple budget scenarios that detail proposed project funding
levels under the various scenarios. Specifically, the Science Budget
Office, in alignment with OMB guidance and requirements, asks
associate directors to submit a budget for a target scenario and may
also request budgets for various other scenarios for specific levels
of funding above or below the target. These scenarios allow the
Director, Deputy Directors, and Science Budget Director to see the
potential effects of various budget decisions at the project level.
Additionally, associate directors make lists of specific projects
recommended for funding increases in case funding is available and
decreases in case funding is short. Associate directors are also
required to submit narratives that describe the strategy behind any
proposed increases or decreases in project funding. For example,
Biological and Environmental Research requested decreased funding for
fiscal year 2011 medical applications, citing the completion of an
artificial retina project effort in its request.
Science's director reconciles priorities across programs annually by
aggregating program proposals into a Science-wide budget request. The
Science-wide budget request is considered in the context of other DOE
priorities and incorporated into the DOE budget request. The DOE
budget request is then considered by OMB against other agency requests
and incorporated into the President's budget request to Congress.
Science Determines Priorities by Assessing Scientific Knowledge and
Other Contextual Factors:
To inform decisions on research priorities, program and senior Science
management gather information to identify those areas of science that
warrant further research. According to senior program officials,
Science gathers information about areas of evolving scientific
knowledge through a variety of means, including:
* Recent guidance from federal advisory committees. Each research
program receives scientific and technical advice from a designated
external federal advisory committee regarding the planning,
management, and implementation of the program's research, according to
agency documents. Federal advisory committees respond to requests from
the Science Director and may be charged to identify scientific
opportunities. For instance, the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory
Committee issued a report in 2009 identifying research needs in the
area of high energy density laboratory plasmas, such as research on
the influence of magnetic fields on these plasmas.[Footnote 20] As
another example of Science's information gathering efforts, in 2010,
the Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee reviewed the
management processes for Advanced Scientific Computing Research's
Applied Mathematics program. The committee found that, for example,
research program managers generally used effective mechanisms to
monitor ongoing projects and recommended that Science issue explicit
guidelines to researchers for drafting progress reports.
* Current findings from the National Academy of Sciences.[Footnote 21]
Science's programs utilize scientific findings from National Academy
of Sciences in their planning, according to Science officials. For
example, their 2009 report, A New Biology for the 21st Century,
advocates the systems-level study of biological systems using the
latest interdisciplinary tools and approaches. This challenge is
aligned with the Biological and Environmental Research program's
Genomic Science research activities, in which researchers conduct
explorations of microbes and plants at the molecular, cellular, and
community levels with the goal of gaining insight about fundamental
biological processes, ultimately leading to a predictive understanding
of how living systems operate.
* Participation in interagency working groups and other partnerships.
Science also collects information from international scientific
partnerships that include projects such as Fusion Energy Sciences'
ITER; interagency working groups, such as Basic Energy Sciences'
participation in the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC)
Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology; and
joint research efforts with other federal agencies, such as NSF.
In addition to determining research priorities by assessing areas of
evolving scientific knowledge, Science considers other contextual
factors when making long-term priority decisions, including:
* Current priorities of Congress and the administration. Congress
provides input to Science's research priorities through legislation,
such as appropriation acts and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.[Footnote
22] The administration provides input through coordination and
oversight of government wide priorities. Congress and the
administration make policy and budget decisions that establish
parameters with which Science prioritizes research and develops the
federal budget request, according to Science officials. Additionally,
administration offices such as the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP)[Footnote 23] and the NSTC[Footnote 24] play a role in
coordinating science policy across the federal government.
* Long time frames associated with basic research. Science supports
basic, fundamental research projects, which often require extended
time frames--years or even decades. For example, Basic Energy
Sciences' neutron scattering efforts, which support basic research on
the fundamental interactions of neutrons with matter, have evolved
from the construction of nuclear power reactors in the early 1940s to
the current program, which encompasses multiple techniques and
disciplines.[Footnote 25] Discoveries from these early activities
motivated Science to construct the Spallation Neutron Source, which
was completed in 2006. This tool is the most powerful neutron
scattering device in the world, and neutrons are an effective tool for
probing the structure of matter. Specifically, beams of neutrons are
particularly well-suited for measurement, which allows physicists to
understand phenomena such as melting and superconductivity in a
variety of materials. This knowledge can be applied to medical
sciences, engineering, and biosciences, among other disciplines,
according to agency documentation.
* Capability of facilities to meet research needs. Science also tries
to ensure that it maintains the capability to meet current and future
research needs through the planning, construction, and operation of
facilities. These facilities can require several years of planning and
construction and typically operate for 20 to 30 years. For example,
the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) began operations in 1982.
As Science identified the future need to produce images of structures
at the nanoscale--a very small scale where the properties of materials
may change--Science began planning the NSLS's replacement. The NSLS II
began construction in 2009 and is scheduled to be operational in 2015,
according to agency documentation.
* Past and current project performance. Science uses internal
information, such as individual project schedule data, project cost
data, and procurement cost information, to inform the prioritization
of individual projects. For example, all of Science's research
programs employ extensive peer reviews to determine what projects will
continue to receive support, according to the Deputy Director of
Science Programs.
As contextual factors and scientific knowledge evolve, research
priorities change both within and across Science's programs. For
example, the Basic Energy Sciences program phased out silicon research
because it was proven unlikely to produce transformative energy
technology discoveries.
Science Coordinates with Other Agencies and the Scientific Community:
Science coordinates its research efforts through formal and informal
mechanisms with other DOE entities--such as the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA)--and externally with other agencies that fund
basic scientific research--including NSF, NASA, NIH, and DOD--to
identify and mitigate potential areas of inappropriate duplication,
overlap, and fragmentation in establishing and implementing research
efforts. Program managers are responsible for informally coordinating
with their counterpart program managers within and outside of DOE,
according to Science officials. Officials in Nuclear Physics, for
example, communicate with officials in NSF's Nuclear Physics program,
and they are partners in interacting with the nuclear physics
community, according to an official in Science's Nuclear Physics
program. Science also coordinates through formal mechanisms,
specifically by sharing management of joint projects and funding. For
example, Biological and Environmental Research and the United States
Department of Agriculture recently issued a joint request for research
proposals related to genomics of plants that might be used for
bioenergy.[Footnote 26] Additionally, principal investigators who
respond to any Science funding opportunity are required to list all of
their current and potential funding sources. If an area of potential
duplication is found, the recipient may no longer be eligible for
Science funding, according to a Science official.
Partnerships and working groups with agencies such as NSF provide
other formal avenues for coordination. For example, Fusion Energy
Sciences and NSF jointly sponsored the Partnership in Basic Plasma
Science and Engineering to coordinate efforts and combine resources.
Partnerships and working groups may also be organized by entities such
as OSTP's NSTC, or specified by legislation. For example, Science is
involved in the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the NSTC
Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability.
Science also participates in the Biomass Research and Development
Board, which was established by the Biomass Research and Development
Act of 2000.[Footnote 27] Furthermore, DOE and NSF jointly charter two
of Science's program advisory committees: the High Energy Physics
Advisory Panel and the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee.
Additionally, Science uses memorandums of understanding to coordinate
formally with other agencies. For example, Advanced Scientific
Computing Research recently signed a memorandum with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the development of
high performance computing. While we discussed Science's coordination
efforts with program officials, the scope of this request did not
involve evaluating the extent to which Science's tools for
coordination are effective in identifying or mitigating duplication,
overlap, or fragmentation.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided a copy of our draft report to the Secretary of Energy for
review. DOE provided written comments expressing agreement with GAO's
findings. DOE's comments are reprinted in enclosure I of this report.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional
committees, the Secretary of Energy, and other interested parties. In
addition, this report will be available at no charge on the GAO
website at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff members have any questions about this report,
please contact Frank Rusco at (202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov or
Melissa Emrey-Arras at (202) 512-6806 or emreyarrasm@gao.gov. Contact
points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs
may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major
contributions to this report are listed in enclosure II.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Frank Rusco:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
Signed by:
Melissa Emrey-Arras:
Director, Strategic Issues:
Enclosures--2:
[End of section]
Enclosure I:
Comments from the Department of Energy:
Department of Energy:
Office of Science:
Washington, DC 20585:
February 13, 2012:
Mr. Franklin Rusco:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, NW:
Washington, DC 20548:
Ms. Melissa Emrey-Arras:
Director, Strategic Issues:
Government Accountability Office:
10 Causeway Street, Room 575:
Boston, MA 02222:
Dear Mr. Rusco and Ms. Emrey-Arras:
The Department of Energy (DOE) appreciates the opportunity to review
the draft Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, "The
Department of Energy's Office of Science Uses a Multilayered Process
for Prioritizing Research" (GAO-12-410R). I am pleased to provide a
response on behalf of DOE.
We believe the GAO did a commendable job of reviewing the practices
used by the Office of Science to identify research priorities and the
practices used by both the Office of Science and the Department to
formulate the budget. The draft report provides an accurate and
balanced overview of how the Office of Science gathers input from the
scientific communities that we serve, how we use that information in
establishing budget priorities during the annual budget formulation
process, and how we coordinate across the DOE and with other Federal
agencies to optimize Federal research efforts and avoid duplication.
We have no additional recommended edits or comments on the draft
report.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on this draft
report. If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at (202)
568-5430. We look forward to receiving your final report.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Patricia M. Dehmer:
Deputy Director for Science Programs:
[End of section]
Enclosure II:
GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Frank Rusco, (202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov; or Melissa Emrey-Arras,
(202) 512-6806 or emreyarrasm@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
Tim Minelli, Assistant Director; Carol Henn, Assistant Director;
Nicole Dery; Cindy Gilbert; Lauren Grossman; Michael Kendix; Cheryl
Peterson; Amy Spiehler; and Jeremy Williams.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Pub. L. No. 110-69, 121 Stat. 572 (Aug. 9, 2007).
[2] Pub. L. No. 111-358, 124 Stat. 3982 (Jan. 4, 2011).
[3] Pub. L. No. 112-10, div. B, title IV, § 1445, 123 Stat. 38, 129
(Apr. 15, 2011) ("Notwithstanding section 1101, the level for
'Department of Energy, Energy Programs, Science' shall be
$4,884,000,000").
[4] Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 2007,
Department of Energy (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 6, 2006) at 90, accessed
January 18, 2012, [hyperlink, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2007-
BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2007-BUD-13.pdf].
[5] Each of the Office of Science's six research programs has a
federal advisory committee that provides independent advice to the
Department of Energy and the programs regarding scientific and
technical issues that arise in the planning, management, and
implementation of the programs.
[6] Because it was a nonprobability sample, the information we
collected from our visits is not generalizeable to the other eight
national laboratories but serves as an example of how prioritization
decisions at these laboratories affect Science's operations.
[7] A submicron is less than a micron, which is equivalent to one
millionth of a meter.
[8] Science manages and supports programs in addition to its six core
research programs, including Workforce Development for Teachers and
Scientists, Science Laboratories Infrastructure, Safeguards and
Security, and Science Program Direction. This correspondence only
discusses the six core research programs.
[9] A particle accelerator is an apparatus for imparting high
velocities to charged particles. There are proton-accelerators, such
as the Large Hadron Collider, and electron-accelerators, such as the
PEP-II.
[10] Science is responsible for and partially funds 10 national
laboratories: Ames National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory,
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Thomas Jefferson
National Accelerator Facility.
[11] Energy Frontier Research Centers are integrated centers
supporting multiple researchers focused on accelerating discovery. The
centers involve Science's partnerships with universities, national
laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit firms. Science
has historically allocated between $2 million and $5 million for each
center per year for a 5-year period. EFRCs are located in 35 states
and the District of Columbia.
[12] Each user facility administers a peer review process to evaluate
scientific proposals for accessing that facility. The proposals are
evaluated for scientific merit by independent proposal review
committees or panels and for feasibility and safety by the facility,
with those that are most compelling being accepted and allocated time.
There is no charge for users who are doing nonproprietary work, with
the understanding that they are expected to publish their results.
Access is also available on a cost-recovery basis for proprietary
research that is not intended for publication.
[13] Photon light sources produce bright beams of X-rays, ultraviolet
light, and infrared light for research in such fields as biology,
medicine, chemistry, environmental sciences, physics, and materials
science.
[14] The ITER Project (formerly known as the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is a seven-member international
collaboration to design, build, and operate a first-of-a-kind
international research facility in Cadarache, France, aimed at
demonstrating the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion
energy. The ITER Members are China, the European Union, India, Japan,
South Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States.
[15] Fusion occurs when the nuclei of two light atoms--often hydrogen
isotopes--collide and fuse together when heated at high temperatures.
This reaction releases energy that may be captured to produce
electricity. A challenge in producing fusion energy is to develop a
device that can produce more energy than is required for achieving
high temperatures.
[16] Particle physics deals with the constitution, properties, and
interactions of elementary particles especially as revealed in
experiments using particle accelerators. Particle physics is also
known as high energy physics.
[17] The Nuclear Science Advisory Committee issued this report in
response to a charge from DOE and NSF to conduct a study of the
opportunities and priorities for U.S. nuclear physics research and
recommend a long-range plan that will provide a framework for
coordinated advancement of the nation's nuclear science research
programs over the next decade.
[18] This advisory committee provides official advice to DOE and NSF
on the national program for basic nuclear science research. The
responsibility for appointing members and forming subcommittees is
shared by the two agencies.
[19] Isotopes are used in energy, medical and national security
applications, and for basic research. Nuclear Physics supports the
production and the development of production techniques of radioactive
and stable isotopes that are in short supply for research and other
applications.
[20] The High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas (HEDLP) program within
Fusion Energy Sciences supports studies of ionized matter, which is
heated and compressed to a point where the stored energy reaches very
high temperature and density. In nature, such conditions exist in the
interior of the sun, in supernovae, in accretion disks around black
holes, pulsars, and astrophysical jets, while on Earth, high energy
density conditions can only be created transiently by using intense
laser pulses, ion or electron ion beams, or pressure from pulsed
magnetic fields.
[21] Congress chartered the National Academy of Sciences, a private,
nonprofit society in 1863 to provide independent advice to the federal
government on subjects of science and technology.
[22] Pub. L. No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 (Aug. 8, 2005).
[23] The Office of Science and Technology Policy is charged with
ensuring that the scientific and technical work of the Executive
Branch is properly coordinated so as to provide the greatest benefit
to society.
[24] The National Science and Technology Council is the principal
means within the executive branch to coordinate science and technology
policy across the diverse entities that make up the federal research
and development enterprise.
[25] Neutron scattering allows scientists to count scattered neutrons,
measure their energies and the angles at which they scatter, and map
their final positions. Neutron scattering provides information on
positions, motions, and magnetic properties of solids. Neutron
scattering research is used to analyze materials for medicine, energy,
electronics, and other products and technologies.
[26] Pub. L. No. 106-224, title III, § 305, 114 Stat. 358, 431 (June
20, 2000), as amended.
[27] Genomics is a branch of biotechnology concerned with applying the
techniques of genetics and molecular biology to the genetic mapping
and DNA sequencing of sets of genes.
[End of section]
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